Chapter Text
Infinity- To Do His Part
by Master FandM
CHAPTER 1
Fin sat in the unmarked car keeping a close watch on his partner. He didn't really expect to have any trouble from the person they were meeting here today, but he'd learned from his last go round in Narcotics that you could never really be certain about anything when it came to drugs or to drug money. He'd already lost one partner. He wasn't about to lose another.
He sat up when someone in a jogging suit stopped a few feet from Mike, but relaxed again when the person continued past him. Apparently, it wasn't who they were waiting for. Fin looked at his watch and frowned. It was getting late. Their contact was supposed to have been here thirty minutes ago. He decided they'd give it a few more minutes then pack it in. No dealer in his right mind would wait out here in the freezing cold just for a messenger, so neither would they.
"How you holding up, Sandoval?" Fin spoke into his radio, and watched as Mike wiped his nose on his sleeve, addressing the mic that was tucked into its cuff.
"Other than freezing my butt off? This guy's late."
"Hang tight for a few more, then we'll call it quits, alright?"
Sandoval didn't answer. Instead, he rubbed his hands together and rocked his body back and forth. To anyone else watching, he looked just like any of the other junkies out there tonight jonesin' for a fix. Fin had to give it to him. Sandoval had one of the best strung out acts he had ever seen. But Fin had learned to read him. He knew it meant 'yeah' just as clearly as if Mike had spoken the word out loud.
Fin had initially balked when his old captain had paired him up again with the younger man. True, by then Sandoval did have a few more years under his belt, but, as a sergeant, Fin had wanted to be partnered with someone he knew from his first tour in the department. Someone with a lot more experience. He'd come back to Narcotics to make a difference; to do his part in trying to stop the disease that was quickly threatening to take over every aspect of the urban life he'd grown up in. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain himself to someone who didn't know him and how he worked, or to have to spend a lot of time watching his partner's every move for mistakes.
Capt. Pezzelli had been adamant though. He'd considered Fin to be one of the best detectives he'd ever had in his unit, with great instincts when it came to undercover work. He'd also had a lot of hope for Sandoval, and had wanted him to learn from Fin. Besides, he'd pointed out, most of the people Fin had worked with before were no longer there. They had either retired, or transferred out of the department.
Fin was about to radio to Mike to bring in the operation, when a kid approached the bench where he was sitting. Fin listened to their conversation for a few seconds, then got out of the car and followed them into the shadows of a nearby tree.
"What's this?" Fin joined the duo and scowled at the boy who'd jumped at the sound of his voice.
"What we have here," Sandoval mocked the boy, "is a very generous young man. He just sold me three dimes for the price of two on account of the fact that Christmas is coming. Not too smart, though. Told me his name is Jamal."
Fin looked at the culprit again and sighed inwardly. They get younger all the time.
"How old are you, boy?"
The would-be dealer glared at Fin, then turned his head without answering. Fin glared back at him. "I asked you a question, son."
"You ain't my daddy!" Jamal shot out. "So don't call me son. And I ain't no little boy!"
Fin's scowl deepened. "You ain't? What are you then? You think you're a man 'cause you're out here with your little bags of weed?" Fin bent over and moved within inches of the boy's face.
"Then how about I run your punk ass in, huh?" he yelled. "How about you do some time in the lock-up?"
Jamal's eyes widened with the thought. Suddenly afraid, he looked more like the ten-year-old that he was than the tough street kid he was pretending to be.
"I gotta go to jail?" The question came out more of a whisper than he'd intended.
"You out here dealing, ain't you?" Fin was determined to put the fear of God in him. "That's what happens to people who sell drugs. They go to jail. Dealers eventually get killed or go to jail."
Jamal's eyes started to brim with tears. "But I ain't a dealer. That was my cousin's stuff, I swear." He looked from Fin to Sandoval, then back to Fin.
"He left it at my house when he came to visit, and I wanted some money for Christmas 'cause I never have any, and my little brother wanted this toy, and I wanted to get somethin' for my mom, so I just thought I could sell it, you know?" Jamal's words tumbled out of his mouth as he tried to explain as fast as he could.
Mike looked over at his partner, who, despite Jamal's impassioned pleas, was continuing to glare at him. He knew it was an act. He could tell from the look in Fin's eyes that Fin had already decided to let the kid go. Mike had had some problems with that at first. As far as he was concerned, a dealer was a dealer was dealer. It hadn't mattered to him how old they were. If they did the crime, then they ought to do the time.
But Fin didn't think that way. He actually wanted to try to save some of these little perps. He showed no mercy with adults, but with the kids . . . He held a soft spot for them. Sandoval wasn't sure if it was because of his partner's own four boys, but whenever Fin came across a minor with no priors who had, for whatever reason, gotten involved in some small time deal, he would usually scare the hell out of them, then let them go with a warning and a promise to never do it again. Sometimes he even managed to extract some volunteer time out of them at one of the local shelters or community center in exchange for getting off. Then he kept tabs on them.
In the beginning, Mike had thought this practice meant his seasoned partner had gone soft. That is, until one day they came across a kid, whom Fin had previously let go, dealing again. Fin had laid into him so badly that by the time everything was said and done, the kid had preferred to be locked up in juvie hall than to have to face him again. Mike was on board after that. He got it now. Fin wasn't about making the most collars or trying to save the most kids. He was about trying to make the most difference where it counted.
"And why should I believe you?" Fin was still threatening Jamal with jail time. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't haul your butt down to the station right now."
"I don't know, man. I don't know." Jamal was on the verge of tears. "I swear I ain't got no more stuff. You could come check my house and see for yourself. Please. I don't wanna get locked up."
Fin's _expression softened. "Where are your parents?"
"I don't know where my dad is. He left a couple years ago," Jamal answered honestly. He sensed a reprieve might be coming and didn't want to do anything to blow it. "My mom's at home with my little brother."
"She know you out here?"
"Naw. I told her I was going to my friend's house."
Fin frowned at him. "Ain't nothin' worse than somebody who lies to their own mother."
Jamal looked down at the ground, too embarrassed to meet Fin's stare. Fin took him by the arm and sat him in the backseat of his car.
"I'm gonna take you home so you can tell your mom all about what you've been up to." He closed the door and leaned into the window.
"Then I and my partner are gonna forget this happened. But don't ever let me catch you out here with dope again. I'm giving you a second chance to do things right. There ain't gonna be a third, you hear me?"
Jamal nodded nervously. "Yeah, I hear you. You won't ever see me again."
Sandoval watched as Fin straightened up and headed back over to him. "Sergeant Tutuola," He kidded him when Fin got close enough to hear. "The cop with a heart." He made a fist and placed it on his chest.
"It kinda gets you right here."
"Whatever."
He nodded toward the car. "You think you straightened him out?"
Fin shrugged. "Let's hope so. For his sake anyway." He was quiet for a moment, thinking of his own sons the same age. "When I'm done with him, I'm gonna head on home. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay. Tomorrow."
Fin walked back over to the car and got in. He looked at Jamal in the rearview mirror.
"Don't go thinking you got off easy. Everything you do now best be done looking over your shoulder 'cause I'm probably gonna be there." Jamal looked horrified, then resigned.
"Yes, sir."
END PART 1